Swallowtail Dragons are graceful and quick flyers, much like their namesake bird. They are capable of precise aerial acrobatics, and can reach very high altitudes. Because of this, humans observing these dragons are often astonished at how large they are when confronted up close. A Swallowtail’s diet consists of insects and small mammals plentiful in temperate forests. These dragons are also made remarkable by their paper-thin wing membranes, which allow light to pass through, creating an astonishing effect on starry nights.

Dragons are highly-intelligent reptilian creatures that—from a human perspective, at least—appear to live forever. Many different varieties of dragon exist, each with their own unique qualities, habitats, and behavior. Adolescence in dragons is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling’s wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. In Galsreim, dragons and humans coexist peacefully.

Acklewackne Jaaro IV is the only surviving member of the noble Fnorkentoop clan of Lurkmenistoin. Before he was hatched, his parents were overthrown in a dastardly coup at the hands of Bob MacDougal and his elite troupe of circus performers. His faithful family servant, Alfred, smuggled him out of the tree castle during the coup and he was raised in a small treehouse with his adopted family.

Upon reaching adulthood, Acklewackne joined the ballet circuit, traveling across the world, putting right what once went wrong; a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law. Acklewackne Jaaro IV is believed to be dead, and he must let the world think that he is dead, until he can find a way to prove that he is not a number, he is a free dragon.

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of Acklewackne's life.